Thursday, June 21, 2012

Debra Mares - The Mamacita Murders - Author Interview

Author Interview

1. Who is the plot based around?
It’s based around Laura, a troubled 17-year-old sex worker and Gaby Ruiz, the prosecutor who is investigating Laura’s assault.

2. What is the main idea of the plot?
It’s a who-done-it mystery. Who sexually assaulted Laura and left her for dead in a motel is the main thrust of the plot. The sub-plot is Gaby’s struggle to find closure over her own mother’s death.

3. When does the plot take place?
Present day. Most of the plot takes place over the period of a month.

4. Where does the plot take place?
In three separate places. First, the crime happens in the fictional Tuckford County, which is inspired by Riverside County, a county east of Los Angeles, California. Gaby lives in Blackbird Beach, which is inspired by Laguna Beach, California. And the investigation is taken to the fictional Walled City, inspired by Cartagena, Colombia.

5. Why did the plot develop the way it did?
By chance, surprise and intuition. As Gaby investigated the crime, I never knew what she was going to find or where it was going to take her.

6. How did you come up with the idea for the plot?
I started writing as an outlet. At the time I wrote The Mamacita Murders, I was working in the Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Unit, meeting troubled youth, and learning about sex trafficking. The made-up plot became a natural expression for me at the time. I am also passionate about the main issue driving the plot - closure - whether for an investigation or personal loss. So it naturally found its way in my writing too.

About the Book

When Laura, a seventeen year old key witness goes missing during trial, Assistant Prosecutor Gaby Ruiz is called to action. Ruiz, a Latina prosecutor, investigates the sexual assault on Laura, who is left for dead in a motel in a drug- and gang-ridden community. The investigation twists from the backwoods in Tuckford County to the back rooms of law enforcement buildings all the way to the Walled City. Did Clown, Laura's boyfriend, try to kill her when she wanted to leave the Lincoln Gang's prostitution ring or -- did a random assailant ransack Laura's room and assault her -- or did law enforcement try to kill Laura to protect one of their own? Through pure determination, Gaby Ruiz does not let anything stop her search for justice and to secure her witness for trial.

Gabriela Ruiz is a sex crimes prosecutor in Tuckford County and runs The Mamacita Club, a community outreach effort from her chrome Vintage Airstream motorhome. She travels with her friends around the county to reach at-risk women. Women affected by drugs, abuse, gang and domestic violence, sex crimes, and broken homes -- they're all in The Mamacita Club. For Gaby, the law is rarely black or white -- it's more about determination, persistence, and finding closure for her victims. But it's always about justice. Gaby has spent all of her professional life seeking justice for others. But what she should have been doing is searching for closure for herself. It is not until Laura goes missing, that Gaby is able to start fixing her own guilt-ridden past for not protecting her mom from an abusive relationship -- this time to save her own life and seek closure over her own mother's death.

Author Debra Mares is the granddaughter of a Mexican migrant farm worker and factory seamstress, was born and raised in Los Angeles, is the first to graduate college in her family, and grew up dancing Ballet Folklorico and Salsa. Debra followed a calling at eleven years old to be an attorney and voice for women, currently lives in Orange County, and appreciates international travel and culture. She has been a county prosecutor in Riverside, California since 2004 and is assigned to the Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Unit. Debra has prosecuted cases ranging from gang homicides and domestic violence to political corruption and major fraud. Debra co-founded The Women Wonder Writers, a community outreach organization and co-created The Write of Your Life, a mentorship and writing program for at-risk young women throughout Riverside County. The Mamacita Murders is her first novel and first in a series of courtroom dramas and chick lit mysteries.